


Breathe in Breathe out

by Rainbow_Trout



Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Fevers, M/M, Pneumonia, Sickfic, Whump, Whumptober, sick!Casey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Trout/pseuds/Rainbow_Trout
Summary: Whumptober day thirteen - chemical pneumonia.Casey never has it easy. Like ever.
Relationships: Matthew Casey/Kelly Severide
Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953733
Comments: 8
Kudos: 77
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Breathe in Breathe out

Severide was silent as he entered their apartment, dumping his shift bag by the door and kicking his shoes off. He knew that Casey was probably still in bed, which was honestly for the best. It had been his first shift back since Casey had grown ill, and Kelly had no doubt that the blonde was exhausted.

It had all started at a hazmat call almost two weeks ago, with everyone standing back because their gear simply wasn’t equipped to deal with that concentration of chloride. All they had to do was watch and wait for Hazmat, and then they could leave the scene.

But of course, fifty-one’s calls were never that simple, and everyone’s heart had raced as a child had run into the middle of the puddle. They’d all known how urgent that situation was, and had all been prepared to act, but Casey had been the one to dive into the middle of the spill, scooping up the child before running back.

He’d been in and out in record time, but he’d been running and breathing deeply, and not wearing a mask due to the abruptness of the situation. It had been immeaditely apparent he’d been exposed to the chloride. He’d been unable to catch his breath as he’d waved Brett and Foster off – preferring that they worked on the kid – and by the time another ambulance arrived, he was sitting with his head between his legs, gasping in painful breaths of air. There were burns around his nose and in his mouth, and every cough brought tears to his eyes.

Yet, by some miracle, the x-ray at Med had revealed only a small amount of damage, and Casey had been put on a breathing treatment to help. But he was never that lucky, and the next two hours had only seen his coughing increase, and then he’d spiked a fever.

Severide had stood by his bed and rubbed his back as they waited for a pulmonologist to come down, who promptly diagnosed Casey with chemical pneumonia. Preventative anti-biotics were added to his treatment, and yet another more targeted breathing treatment, and Casey was settled onto a ward.

The next two days had been the most severe and had Severide the most scared that he’d ever been. Casey had been coughing almost constantly, doubled over unless Kelly was holding him up in his arms. His fever had been high, and more than a few times he’d slipped into delirium. Severide had done his best to keep him comfortable, but there wasn’t an awful lot he could do as the blonde clutched his chest in agony, his sats only remaining in the acceptable range with the assistance of oxygen.

After those initial, awful few days had passed, Casey had started to calm down, sats climbing and remaining stable. His fever was down as well, and they hoped that Casey was through the worst. He still hadn’t been able to do much other than lean against Severide, seeking his comfort, but now that his condition was stable, he was starting to want to go home.

Something that was granted the following day. There wasn’t anything more that the hospital could do, and Casey now only needed supplemental oxygen – something he could get at home. Being in his own bed was better for his mental health, and Severide was more than adept to take care of him. He was willing to stay with Casey for every minute to watch him, ignoring the blonde’s rasps that he didn’t want him to be bored.

Besides, he knew that they were well looked after. There wasn’t a single member of fifty-one who wasn’t willing to do anything they could possibly need, and Cindy Herrmann had already stocked their fridge with healthy, home cooked meals. All they had to focus on was Casey’s recovery, keeping him warm and comfortable, and watching his hydration levels.

Something which had been more challenging at first than Severide wanted to admit. Casey had still been at the point in his recovery where he was sleeping all day, so all of his care had been left up to the squad Lieutenant. Severide had set up alarms to make sure Casey didn’t miss any of his medications, and he had woken up every two hours to check his sats. He knew that some level of that anxiety was unreasonable, but he couldn’t help himself.

But Casey had rallied, growing stronger with each day. Severide had found himself celebrating all the minor achievements, doing his best to make Casey smile. Matt had in turn done his best to be positive, hugging Kelly to convey his gratitude.

Once he was able to get too and from the bathroom, get himself water, and heat up a plate of food, Casey had insisted that Severide returned to shift. He loved spending time with his boy, but his sense of duty had left him feeling guilty that Boden had been managing without two officers. It would have been hard for the whole house, and in some circumstances could even be dangerous. Severide hadn’t been easily swayed, but once Casey had promised to pick up the phone every few hours, and had agreed to have Cindy on stand-by, Kelly had placed a firm kiss to his warm forehead, setting him up for twenty-four hours alone.

Severide had hated every moment of it, the only bearable parts being the moments he could call Casey, sitting and talking to him softly. During one of his calls, Casey had fallen into a violent coughing fit, gasping for air, and Severide had been almost in tears that he couldn’t help him. He’d sat in his office for a long time after that, until Boden had come in and offered to send him home.

But Kelly had lasted for the rest of the shift, which just made his reward – seeing Casey – so much more special.

He entered the room, smiling at the lump in the middle of the bed. Casey had bundled himself up in the blankets and had created a nest with the pillows. He looked cosy and secure, and Severide could only smile wider as he realised that Casey had pulled his pillow to his face. It did mean that the oxygen mask had slipped off – though, now that Casey was feeling a little better, he had a habit of removing it anyway – but it still warmed his heart.

He crept over, settling on the edge of the bed before leaning over his boy. Gently, he wrapped an arm around his chest, rubbing his arm through the blankets. He leant down, pressing a light kiss to Casey’s – still warm – forehead, before kissing his neck, “Hey, Matty… good morning, baby…”

Casey stirred, shifting against him and subconsciously leaning into his hold, “Mmm…”

Gently raking a hand through Casey’s hair, Kelly kissed him again, “Hey, baby… I’m home. C’mon… wakey wakey…”

This time Casey groaned in his grasp, letting out a puff of air that was probably supposed to be a chuckle. But much to Kelly’s display, the laugh morphed into a cough, and Casey’s shoulders started to shake violently.

“Ah… shit. Sorry, baby. Here. Hang on…”

He gripped the blonde’s shoulders, carefully lifting him to a seated position. Casey’s face was already a bright red, and it only grew redder as he continued to cough. Bracing Casey’s shoulder against his own, he moved one hand to his back, moving it up and down as he patted firmly and quickly. He’d been told that the action would help loosen the phlegm in Casey’s lungs, and he hoped it was right, “Ah, I’m sorry, Matty… I’m sorry…”

He continued to pat his back, occasionally pausing to rub his hand up and down. He could hear the wheezing in Casey’s lungs, and even though it had sounded better than previous days, he still hated it. He hated that Casey had been struck down with this illness, because the blonde had done nothing to deserve it.

When almost three minutes passed with no improvement, Kelly patted his back once again, before regretfully pulling away. Casey clearly needed more support than just his hands, so he was going to get it, “Sorry, Matty… just hang on, it’s gonna be okay…”

He reached behind him, taking the oxygen mask, and then the nebulizer. Turning back to Matt, his heart ached, seeing Casey now holding himself up with one arm, the other pressed to his chest. Tears were streaming down his face, and his eyes were desperately searching for Severide’s.

“Okay, here… Matty, try to take a breath of this, yeah? It will help.”

The blonde nodded, hand moving from his chest to hold the mask against his face. Kelly helped, lovingly securing his had on top of his, “Okay, hey… that’s it… that’s it, take a breath… ready? Okay, breathe with me… okay… in…”

Kelly continued to coach him, moving one hand back to Casey’s back when he thought he was stable enough. The sounds coming from Casey’s lungs were still violent, but they were calming and slowing down.

“Great job, baby… great job. You’re doing great… good… good…”

Eventually, Casey’s coughing stopped, and he wheezed in a couple of breaths. Feeling as though Casey could hold the mask by himself, Kelly moved his hand away from the mask, grabbing the bucket they’d been keeping by Casey’s bed, “Okay, here… spit. Know it’s gross, but spit…”

Casey took a few more breaths with the oxygen, bloodshot eyes glancing around, before leaning forwards and spitting. Kelly moved his free hand to Casey’s neck, softly stroking back and forth, “Great… well done, baby. Finished?”

Tired, Casey nodded, bringing the mask back to his face to drink in the oxygen. Kelly set the bucket back down, kneeling in front of Casey as he swept his hair back from his fevered brow, “Alright… okay. It’s okay, Matty. It’s okay…”

A few minutes passed, before Casey looked back up, smile evident in his tired eyes. The glimmer made Severide’s heart race, because Casey had been lacking even that small amount of energy for a long time.

But not this morning, and Casey did his best to appear cheerful as he rasped, “Hey, Kel.”

Filled with joy at the blonde’s voice – even if he was tempted to wince at the hoarseness – Kelly grinned, leaning forwards so he was closer to his boy, “Hey, baby… how are you feeling? How did you go?”

Casey made a so-so gesture with his hand, throat hurting and still wanting to remain as minimally verbal as possible. But that rule didn’t apply when he was curious about his boy’s own wellbeing, and he asked, “How was shift?”

Chuckling, Kelly leant in, pressing a firm kiss against his forehead, “It was fine, baby… fairly uneventful. Missed you, though. Always miss you.”

That earned one of Casey’s bigger grins, along with a slight blush, “I missed you, too… love you.”

“I love you too, baby…” he whispered, bringing Matt in for a hug. Casey was quick to return it, resting against his neck. They sat like that for a while, Kelly swaying gently to soothe his boy.

When they did pull apart, Kelly could see how drained Matt was getting, even with the short amount of activity he’d done. Though, he had just spent twenty-four hours looking after himself, something which would surely be draining, so Severide said nothing and smiled softly, “Do you want to go to the couch, baby? Watch some TV?”

Slowly, Casey nodded, lightly gripping Kelly’s shoulder. Severide smiled, helping Casey to shift to the end of the bed, before wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “Okay, ready to stand?”

The blonde nodded again, one hand gripping the mask to his face. He often got breathless standing, but he knew that Severide would be holding him, and that he’d be okay.

“Alright. One… two… three…”

Casey stood, Severide’s arm immeaditely securing itself around his waist. Grateful, he leant his head against his shoulder, nuzzling against his warmth as Kelly leant to the side and flung the oxygen tank over a shoulder and started walking, “Alright… let’s get you settled, then I’ll make some breakfast… think there’s meant to be a game on later, but Otis also recommended some movies… if you’re interested in them, that is. Do you have any preferences?”

Humming once again, Casey pressed his forehead against Severide’s neck, pushing against him, “Mmmm… just you.”

Eyes lighting up, Kelly paused, turning towards Casey and lightly kissing his cheek, “Well, I think that can be arranged.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that people are still enjoying these fics! I've found it challenging to keep up, but I hope that they're not disappointing!


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